Barely one month after the failed assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump, the United States Secret Service has decided to take some agents from President Joe Biden’s security team and put them onto Trump’s detail for a while.
The updates to the GOP nominee’s security team come weeks after the July 13 attempt on his life at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. On that day, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks managed to evade security and position himself on a nearby rooftop.
Despite being noticed at least 30 minutes beforehand, the suspect was not approached until after he opened fire at the stage—leaving Trump with an ear injury, two attendees with serious wounds, and tragically claiming the life of a father protecting his family. The disaster was later described by the resigned Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle as the “most significant operational failure” by the agency in decades.
Now, the agency is working overtime to compensate for their mistakes and ensure the same thing doesn’t happen again. In addition to moving agents from Biden’s detail to Trump’s, the Secret Service has obtained bullet-protective glass for outdoor rallies.
According to anonymous officials with the agency, reassigning members of a presidential protection team is not a common occurrence. However, it was deemed necessary thanks to the rise in threats against Trump and a lower travel rate for Biden. The Secret Service is still on the hook for providing protection for at least three dozen high-profile politicians—both current and former—as well as their families.
One official also revealed that the logistical side of switching agents from one detail to another is “a significant undertaking” and added that “specific protective means” are not able to be revealed or commented on by the agency.
For Trump’s beefed security, ballistic glass is set to be stationed at designated areas throughout the country to be easily accessible when needed. Since the shooting, Trump’s campaign has not hosted an outdoor rally, although he did participate in an outdoor press conference this week. The former president has already said that he plans to return to the area of the shooting in October, for another event.
